Rohan Pethiyagoda

Project Goal

Protect Sri Lanka’s biodiversity by reclaiming tracks of land to support endangered species

Location: Sri Lanka

"The Wildlife Heritage Trust has demonstrated that biodiversity conservation, exploration, research and awareness programmes can be self-supporting in a developing country.”

Two centuries ago, the island that is now Sri Lanka was considered an earthly paradise, the stunningly beautiful home to hundreds of now endangered species. Progress has destroyed all but a few scattered remnants of the virgin rain forests that once sheltered these creatures and covered one-quarter of the island nation.

Rohan Pethiyagoda, a biomedical engineer by training, is waging a personal crusade to save the remainder of his nation’s rich natural heritage through a programme of education, publishing and the recovery of blighted land. To accomplish this, he founded the Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka.